Silent Films And There Impact

The main characteristics that separate the silent films from the later talkies other than sound is the huge use of human expression although the first movies were nothing more than silent, short reels of film, usually depicting ordinary people performing everyday tasks people were still fascinated by watching something move on screen. During the first stages of film with the advent of Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope people would pay to view such things as Boxing Cats (1898) and most shots were just the simple acts of movement. There was no plot or characterization with the first early silent films rather Silent films emphasized body language and facial expression so that the audience could better understand what an actor was feeling and portraying on screen. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made practical in the late 1920s with the perfection of vitophone system (Moviehistory.Com). As film progressed and theaters were built to house audiences and make profits, silent films began to use live music coinciding with the film to better the experience. The grander palaces used full symphonic orchestras to accompany their movies. October 6, 1927, the success of The Jazz Singer, a Warner Brother’s a half-silent, half-talking musical signaled the beginning of the end of silent films and that wonderful experience. The orchestras were later abandoned when the talkies came. People wanted to hear what the actor or actress was saying on the screen rather than just watching movement.
I think a lot of elements are missed from the era of the silent film, one being the fascination of just the theater experience. We have grown so accustomed to hearing what is going on that some of that early artistic value is lost. I really don’t think that film studios would really be able to profit from a silent film in general but I personally would like to see some of the early characteristics come back like the live music. How cool would it be to go to a move and concert at the same time? Although in many films today you can see the first characteristics of early film for example the extreme close up shot, this was one of the first shots created during the silent film era. I think that the technological innovation of sound has forever changed film and unfortunately there is not a big market place for silent films today. Not to say that no one wants to watch them, I just don’t think they could create much of a profit. In my blog i have added a couple of video clips that I have discussed.

Block-Buster Films

In the 1970s the block-buster was born and that showed the studios new ways to make money, with related products and sequels. Also, the studios would release movies to all the theaters at once, a formula that met with great success, coupled with national advertising campaigns. Prior to 1975, films were released at different times of the year with no specific time line in place to guarantee a success. In my own personal opinion I feel that the block buster films have changed the art of film making for the worse. It seems that these big budget production films like Avatar for example have taken away the true form of film making. I just don't see how the audience can connect to a giant blue alien that is supposed to be a human. Since the 1970's most films seem to have the same characteristics being sex, violence, explosions, and special effects, not to say that the audiences during this time did not want theses in their films.
Films no longer had to be a success in the theater in order to gain a profit. With a Block Buster films can now sell Merchandise and soundtracks to gain extra revenue from the film. George Lucas had made so much money with the merchandise of Star Wars that it proved to the studios that they could exploit this success of a film in other ways. What the Block Buster created was films stripped of their art house attire and made dumber to make a profit. Computer generated graphics have risen to such a degree in the past few years that they have become the key character in some films. This has taken away of the "real" aspect in a film. Explosions are bigger, sex is more provocative and violence is a necessity for these films.
Another big aspect of the block-buster films is the use of sequels. Studios have overwhelmed audiences with sequels to big blockbuster hits, for example Jaws part one, two, and three. Although I hate sequels I have found some interesting economic information that can explain why studios press so hard to make sequels. According to The recent joint study by Binghamton University and Florida Atlantic University says that while sequels do not match the box office revenues of the parent films, week-by-week they do better than non-sequels – more so, when they quickly follow the original. Most can see the same effect taking place in foreign films especially in Japanese films like the grudge, although I don’t think it’s as bad as United States. Summer seems to be the ideal time for studios to release a Block buster for obvious reason kids are out of school with more time to go see a movie.
In conclusion I feel that although blockbuster films may help the economy with big spending they have been stripped of most artistic value and have been replaced with catch your eye entertainment. I think there is a part for these big budget films, but not every film in the theater need to be one. In my Blog I have included some of the most well known films that really created the block-buster.

Film making in the 1960's

“Post-classical” film making is a word used to describe the changing methods of how the story should be told, and refers to a time in cinema from roughly the mid-1960s. Post-classical film making is usually associated with the “New Hollywood” style of cinema. The new form of drama and characterization played a huge role in the making of this style of film. The characteristics that are associated with New Hollywood film making had an emphasis on realism of character and theme. The use of rock music was also a common practice and more overt sexuality than in previous films before this time. Shooting on location became a common practice in these types of films.

The main characters in this style may behave in a morally ambiguous fashion, and the lines between the antagonist and protagonist may be unclear to the audience (A short History of Film). By the by the late Sixties studios were faced with the fact that profits were not up and the audience was dwindling at an alarming rate. They had to come up with new ways to attract the crowds and what better way, than to appeal to the younger audiences. The old Hollywood styles of films were just not prevalent to the times. French new wave and Japanese cinema was attracting audiences but not American made films, hence the New Hollywood style of film making. What the film makers hoped to achieve with these types of films was to attract young audiences and create a connection between them and the characters. These types of films often used the idea of the disaffected youth to connect with the younger audience.

A few of the old masters of the trade were able to keep pace with the changing times. Alfred Hitchcock created Psycho in 1960 a film famous for its graphic violence and the manner in which it was shot, quickly and cheaply (A short history of film). Such directors of this time like Sidney Lumet, Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich, Woody Allen, learned filmmaking in television and believed in the ideal of tense, low-budget, stark cinema is the key to attracting the audiences attention.  A new crop of film-school-trained cinematographers also contributed their talents in the era of new Hollywood film experimentation (AMC film site). One of the films that was shot during this time that fits perfectly into the category of New Hollowed style of films is Bonny and Clyde directed by Arthur Penn in 1967. One of the major themes recurring in this style of cinema was the depiction of the villain as a likable hero. Vietnam and had caused disenchantment with the government, and anyone who rebelled with authority was seen as the good-guy by the younger generation. The characters of Bonnie and Clyde were seen as good looking, humorous and great fun to be around people, even though they were thieves.In the clip I added you can clearly see the sexual tension between the two which was a deliberate act to in-trance the younger teen audience. The films that were created during the 60’s have sparked heated controversy over the perceived escalation of violence in cinema. In my blog I have included some trailers of films created during the time period including Bonny and Clyde, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid and my personal favorite Dr. Strange Glove. Each of these films have the characteristics of the New Hollywood style of film making. In Bonny and Clyde its the sexuality and violence aspect of the film. In Butch Cassidy its the shock aspect with huge explosions to attract the attention of the audience and finally in Dr. Strange glove its the comedic aspects of making fun of the government all equally great films for there time.

Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa

One of the most influential international film directors of his time is Akira Kurosawa. I was introduced to one of his films in class and found myself fascinated by his use of hidden themes and artistic use of nature. Kurosawa was born March 23, 1910 and died September 6, 1998. Kurosawa was not just a film director but a producer, screenwriter and editor of his films. In his great career spanning 57 years he directed over 30 films and made his director debut, surprisingly during the Second World War. His first film was an action film titled sanshiro sugata which translates to Judo Saga which was a Kung Fu based film.

Because Kurosawa uses nature as a crucial element in his films it makes the art of his films really stand out. But what makes him in inspiration to all that seek the artistic value of films is how dedicated he is in creating his moving works of art. He is a director that is passionately involved in every aspect of the filmmaking process. In Rashomon, the class was introduced to a whole new way in which nature and storytelling could be filmed. I personally remember a scene in the beginning of film when the wood chopper is walking through the forest and as he’s walking the camera pans up at the trees with the sun rays passing through. Before Kurosawa, film makers never thought to experiment with camera shots of that nature. The work of Kurosawa can be seen in many films. For example in Rashomon the story is told four times each in a way of another person’s conception of how the samurai was killed. We see the same form of film making in kill bill by Quentin Tarantino and many other of his films.

In 1977, American director George Lucas had released Star Wars, a wildly successful science fiction film influenced by Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress, among other works. Lucas, like many other New Hollywood directors, revered Kurosawa and considered him a role model (archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/). One of Kurosawa’s must influential films that he created is also known as one of the greatest “Guy” films ever made is seven samurai. The seven samurai released in 1954 is Japanese film co-written, edited and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film takes place in Warring States Period Japan (around 1587/1588). It follows the story of a village of farmers that hire seven master less samurai to combat bandits who will return after the harvest to steal their crops (archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/). I posted a small clip of the seven samurai and some other of his works. 

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1. The text book stated that only one woman director survived during the change silent films to the “talkies”. Dorthy Arzner directed the first sound picture at paramount titled the wild party. This came to be a revolutionary film for its time. The film was also hailed for its technical achievements. Before talkies woman played the role of object rather than person. During the thirties and forties women audiences made up a large portion of the studio revenue. In order for the studios to keep the money coming in they would have to make films that would appeal to women. The films the studios created what would later be known as women’s pictures. These films told stories about women’s lives and had women playing much more powerful roles than before.

2. The artist that I felt was influential during the golden age of American film is John Wayne.  John Wayne made his debut in his first major role in a western directed by Raoul Walsh, The Big Trail. By Wayne's own decision he appeared in about eighty of these horse operas between 1930 and 1939. In riders of destiny (1933) he became film's first singing cowboy. Wayne also appeared in some of the three musketeers westerns. Clint Eastwood would later state that John Wayne was an actor he very much enjoyed watching on film. Not only was Wayne a very talented actor but he was also hailed for his riding ability and inpressive western skills. Wayne rose beyond the typical recognition for a famous actor to that of an enduring icon that symbolized and communicated American values and ideals.

3.  Horror films have become a factory for remakes. In particular Dracula and Frankenstein were remade in the early 1990s.  It was in the early 1930s that American film producers, popularized the horror film by bringing to the screen a series of successful features. These films were much different than their earlier counter parts. In the 1930s there was much less violence in horror films than today. Film creators need to stay in touch with their audiences and in horror film sometime bloodier is better.

4.  Sound not only changed the technical aspects of film but it changed the way audiences felt towards the artist. Prior to the invention of the vitaphone, films were generally short, with dialogue cards inserted to give necessary bits of information to the audience. For the first time, writers became a huge part of Hollywood. The ability to have actors speak and be heard, rather than just react or mime, allowed the audience to truly connect with what was happening onscreen. Another innovation was color films. Although early color experiments had been conducted in the past, none were truly successful until the three-color camera was invented in 1932 by Technicolor. The audience could connect to film in a whole new way. Not only could they hear what was taking place on film but they could see what was happing in color. These two inventions changed the art of making film forever.

5. What I would like to discuss is how the golden age of Hollywood created what is known today as celebrities. Some very famous actors from this time include Clark Gable, John Wayne, Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman; these were some of the names that became American icons due to film. Audiences loved to watch famous actors and actress on film there would be lines out the doors of theaters when a famous name was in a film. These celebrities of their time were looked up to by children and some became American heroes. If we only had that today, most actress and actors are so over paid they don’t even have a sense of reality.

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